Famous figure skater Scott Hamilton has decided not to treat his third brain tumor until it becomes symptomatic.
He’s aware this is not a popular choice, or one that everyone can understand. He underwent two previous surgeries for his brain tumor, and the second surgery came with a slew of complications. But each time, it came back.
This time, Hamilton is taking a different approach. He described his reaction when he was diagnosed for the third time.
“All I felt was just, don’t worry about this. Just go home and get strong,” he he told People in an interview published Wednesday. ‘”I’m at peace with the decision.”
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The ice skating legend said he instinctively knew this was the best path to follow.
“I was just answering my spirit,” he told the outlet.
He also explained how he came to the quick decision.
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“And so they brought in this guy, a really young, talented surgeon, and he said, ‘We could do the surgery again. It’d be complicated, but we’ve got really talented people here that we could bring in, and I know we could pull it off if that’s an option for you,'” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said his mind drifted back to 2004 when he was first diagnosed with brain cancer, as well as to his second diagnosis in 2010. His second surgery ended up requiring nine additional surgeries to fix an artery in his brain the doctors had nicked. Hamilton said he wasn’t prepared to go down that road again.
“They go, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ And I said, ‘I think I’m going to go home and get strong,'” he told People.
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His decision proved to be a solid one.
“It’s been remarkable. I went back to the scan three months later and they said, it hasn’t grown. I go back three months later and they go, it shrank 45%. I said to my surgeon, ‘Can you explain this?’ And he said, ‘God.’ I went back in, and it shrunk 25% again,” he told People.
But the following visit brought bad news.
“It had grown. And then COVID hit and going into any kind of hospital situation was almost impossible. So in my spirit, in my inner being, I realized, I’m totally at peace with not even looking at it again unless I become symptomatic,” Hamilton said.
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The 1984 Olympic gold medalist knows he can start treatment when he feels the time is right. (RELATED: ‘The Walking Dead’ Actor Reveals Devastating Life News)
“The ace I have up my sleeve is that now there is a targeted radiation therapy that will shrink the tumor,” he said. “And in that, I can avoid a lot of other things like surgery and chemo. So I don’t know, I’m mostly trying to be in the moment and taking all the information and do the right thing when the time comes.”
CHECK OUT HAMILTON’S GOLD-WINNING PERFORMANCE AT THE 1984 WINTER OLYMPICS IN SARAJEVO:
AND HERE HE IS RECEIVING HIS MEDAL: